A pair of George III mahogany vase stands, circa 1770

The deign of these stands straddles two phases of the Georgian decorative tradition. They would originally have been intended to hold the finest examples of Chinese ceramics. Europe’s fascination with Chinese goods began in the 17^th century and was exemplified by the prolific collection and display of imported porcelain. Around 1700, court designer Daniel Marot published ‘Pattern for a Chinese room’ which included various brackets and mantels intended to support a collection of Chinese vases and urns. Within his design, Marot included a carved wooden pot-stand with inwardly-curving legs.¹ By 1762 Thomas Chippendale’s third edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director would include designs for “Stands for China Jarrs” decorated in an effusively rococo manner (pl. CXLIX). The present lot are in a later style that could be seen as ‘transitional’: its cabriole legs derive from rococo forms but only display a gentle curve. They support a frieze with fluting that anticipates the neoclassicism that would dominate the later George III period. A comparable example of the form was sold by Christies New York, 8 April 2004, lot 162.

¹ See Honour, H., Chinoiserie: The Vision of Cathay, New York, 1961, fig.23